By Andrew L. Jaffee

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper, leader of one of the world’s greatest liberal democracies, has the courage to stem the politically-correct tide, and to stand squarely in support of Israel. In a speech commemorating the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, he said that the Jewish State, “is a tribute to the unquenchable human aspiration for freedom, and a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people.” In comments made the same week on a Toronto radio station, he said that the current fad of anti-Israel sentiment boils down to nothing but anti-Semitism. I encourage you to read the excerpts shown below, and to follow the links to read the full text of Harper’s courageous statements.

Harper on anti-Semitism, from the Edmonton Journal:

… “I guess my fear is what I see happening in some circles is (an) anti-Israeli sentiment, really just as a thinly disguised veil for good old-fashioned anti-Semitism, which I think is completely unacceptable,” Harper said in an interview with Toronto’s CFRB radio.

“We learned in the Second World War that those who would hate and destroy the Jewish people would ultimately hate and destroy the rest of us as well and the same holds today.” …

Harper commemorating Israel’s 60th birthday (text from IsraPundit) :

… All of my life, Israel has been a symbol — a symbol of the triumph of hope and faith. After 1945, our battered world desperately needed to be lifted out of post-war darkness and despair. After so much pain and suffering, humanity needed comfort and optimism. After so much death and destruction, we needed renewal — the renewal of the dream of a better and more civilized world. In short, we needed to be inspired. It was the people who had suffered who most provided that inspiration. By their example, they led the world back to the light. From shattered Europe and other countries near and far, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made their way home. Their pilgrimage was the culmination of a two-thousand-year-old dream; it is a tribute to the unquenchable human aspiration for freedom, and a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people.

In the sixty years that followed, Israel blossomed into one of the most successful countries on earth; a land of ingenuity and enterprise, an oasis of agricultural genius, a wellspring of fine art and high culture, a model of democracy. Israel truly is the “miracle in the desert.” …

Unfortunately, Israel at 60 remains a country under threat — threatened by those groups and regimes who deny to this day its right to exist. And why? Make no mistake; look beyond the thinly-veiled rationalizations: because they hate Israel, just as they hate the Jewish people. Our government believes that those who threaten Israel also threaten Canada, because, as the last world war showed, hate-fuelled bigotry against some is ultimately a threat to us all, and must be resisted wherever it may lurk. …

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Related: Israel, Political Correctness, Canada, Anti-Semitism

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